Complaints Filed With Indiana Election Division Against PAC, Pence
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Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Complaints have been filed with the Indiana Election Division against Gov. Mike Pence and the Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom, led by Warsaw resident and Kosciusko County Silent No More co-founder Monica Boyer. The complaints were filed with the election division Monday by Tyler Cooley, a Huntington democrat who is Third District Democratic Central Committee treasurer and president of the Third District Democrats Breakfast Club. Cooley’s complaint says on Feb. 9, Pence and his campaign committee accepted an in-kind donation of campaign materials including, but not limited to, political signs with the words “Protect Religious Freedom” from the Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom, which it says is an unregistered political action committee. The complaint states The Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom, led by Boyer, is not a PAC registered with the Secretary of State of Indiana, but is a PAC by the definition set out in the Indiana Campaign Finance Manual chapter 4 subsections A and B. A political action committee is an organization located within or outside Indiana that proposes to influence the election or defeat of a candidate for statewide, state legislative, local or school board office or the outcome of a public question that will appear on the ballot in Indiana, and accepts contributions or makes expenditures during a calendar year that in the aggregate exceed $100. The production of over 200 signs as well as the money received in donation to produce them would exceed $100, the complaint states. The complaint goes on to state that the group, Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom, has continued to use this sign design lacking any formal disclaimer at multiple campaign events at the state house, in the days and weeks following Feb. 9. The first complaint states Pence and his campaign committee knowingly accepted an in-kind donation of campaign materials during a budget session of the General Assembly in violation of Indiana law. It also states The Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom is acting in violation of Indiana law, operating as a PAC by rallying against a public question, endorsing candidates and making aggregate expenditures in excess of $100 without filing the required forms. The third complaint states campaign signs provided to the governor and his committee by the Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom lacked the required campaign finance disclaimer indicating who paid for those signs. The Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom should have been listed on the sign. The fourth complaint is that the campaign signs provided to the governor by the Indiana Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom lacked the required campaign finance disclaimer indicating who approved those signs. Pence or his campaign committee should have been listed. During a telephone interview Monday afternoon, Boyer said she first learned of the complaint on Twitter Monday morning. “The complaints are baseless and there is nothing to them. I didn’t purchase any of those signs and there is nothing in there that holds any truth whatsoever,” Boyer said. According to a telephone interview Monday afternoon, Cooley said he decided to file the complaints after he saw photos of the Protect Religious Freedom signs on Facebook after a rally hosted by the governor’s office two weeks ago for the Indiana Religious Freedom Act. “From there, recognizing the fact that I do have some knowledge of campaign finance law, I recognized that the signs lacked a visible political disclaimer. The sign has to state who paid for the sign and who approves of the sign,” Cooley said. He said he was looking into finance campaign law that says legislators cannot campaign during an active budget session and the executive of the state cannot campaign during the active budget session. “From there that led me to my primary complaint against the governor which is that he accepted an in-kind campaign donation during an active budget session which is a violation of Indiana code,” Cooley said. “Ultimately it’s the fact that several laws were broken here and there is no denying it and the signs have no disclaimer.”
